Microsoft Confirms Going with Bluray

Just two days back, we reported that Sony is busy wooing Microsoft to add Blu-ray support to its Xbox 360 gaming console.

The effort's paid off (or so it seems) -- with Microsoft now confirming that it's trying to figure out the best way to connect with Blu-ray. The company also seems to be working on ways to include device driver support for Blu-ray drives in its Windows operating system.

All I have to say is if by the end of this generation M$ doesn't fix their hardware issues, and sony doesn't fix their software issues they better darn well team up on the next gen. PlaystationX, can you imagine that beast? Thing would be unstoppable.

edit: People so eager to disagree on part of blind loyalty without a single thought for themselves. God forbid we the consumer get a superior system from huge multi billion dollar corporation's who only care about your dirty dollar. You act as if it's your grandma. Good lord people. Think.

I doubt we will ever see an XBox360 with a Blu Ray drive. It's not cost effective, and the Xbox360 has done great so far without worrying about HD Movies. I think they will keep to their mantra of "Games Games Games". Maybe an external add-on is in the works, but I doubt it will be built in. Just my opinion. Fire away

Although Microsoft would be paying (Samsung probably) for the Blu Ray drive, and Samsung will be paying SONY the royalties for Blu Ray, it will hardly come close to all of the royalties that SONY pays annually to Microsoft... This isn't about Royalties. SONY pays Microsoft with every Vaio it sells that runs WINDOWS, and every SONY/Ericsson phone running windows mobile. Not to mention any Microsoft developed Codecs that aid in the Blu Ray decoding process.

microsoft have confirmed there talking to sony not samsung so common sense tells me that sony will be getting royalties direct.

its business and you seem offended that microsoft have to pay sony and im confused why? are you getting any shares from the deal? i doubt it, sony pay microsoft for windows, microsoft have to pay sony for bluray, business is business

and who cares how sony will be recieving its royalties from microsoft? it could go through ten different companies fact of the matter is microsoft are in talks with sony not samsung and included in them talks are how much chedder sony want for letting microsoft use their winning format you cant fight facts my friend!.

"I doubt we will ever see an XBox360 with a Blu Ray drive. It's not cost effective, and the Xbox360 has done great so far without worrying about HD Movies."

It's not cost effective right now, but as Blu-ray starts to dominate the HD media market and prices drop, it will be. Also, as more games start being developed using higher resolution textures, more content, etc... putting games on Blu-ray will be a lot handier than using multiple DVDs.

I doubt it. They didn't include built in support for HD-DVD. What makes BR any more special? The lack of a built in drive of a different standard breaks compatibility. Developers won't want to make 2 different versions of games, or only make a game that a small portion of users can play.

Having a BR-Drive add-on is the most we'll see out of the 360. Maybe the next gen console will have it built in, but knowing MS... they'll prolly try to have some other crazy format built in.

People are seriously confused or just retarded.... Microsoft doesn't have to BEG for anything, Anyone who wants to can make a Blu-ray Player. As for Royalties you do realize 1)Sony is only like 1 of a dozen companies behind Blu-ray and 2)Guess whos Codex runs most Blu-ray movies? I'll give you a hint the developers of that codex start w/ a Micro and end with a Softt.

You are so misinformed it's not even funny. Sony invented Blu-ray and even if some other companies were involved in the development of it, Sony owns a huge chunk of it and they'd have to approve. Microsoft would have to pay Sony.

LMAO STFU sore loser. BLU RAY IS THE NEXY DVD OF THIS GENERATION. Yes Micrsoft LOST and FAILED and they need SONY who is the primary backer of Blu Ray to at least make there console a little more competitive and relevant. BRO YOUR LIVING IN A DREAM WORLD. The ONLY thing Microsft is big at is there monopoly on PC's. Sony is a bigger gaming company, the biggest electronics company in the world. Owns Sony BMG music which is a HUGE music label . The own Sont pictues, Tristar, Columbia, MGM and so much more.

And Blu rAY runs on JAVA RETARD which with update 2.0(which is compatable with the PS3 ;).......Microsft little codec has NOTHING blig at play i Bluray....It's JUST A CODEC LMAO..... AND will already do everything HDi does and MORE. THIS IS CONFIRMED. MICROSFT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BLU RAY. THEY FAILED. Sony is the PRimary OWNER and BACKER OF BLU RAY.

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is the industry consortium that develops and licenses Blu-ray Disc technology and is responsible for establishing format standards and promoting business opportunities for Blu-ray Disc. The BDA is divided into three levels of membership: the Board of Directors, the Contributors, and the General Members. [1]

"The "Blu-ray Disc Founder group" was started in May 2002 by nine leading electronic companies: Sony, Matsushita, Pioneer, Philips, Thomson, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Sharp, and Samsung. Spearheaded by Sony Corporation, on February 19th 2002 the companies announced [2] that they were the "Founders" of the Blu-ray Disc and later changed their name to the "Blu-ray Disc Association" on May 18, 2004 to allow more companies to join their development. Some examples of companies that signed in include Apple, TDK, Dell, Hewlett Packard, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. and Universal Music Group. As of December 2007, there are more than 250 members and supporters of the Association." http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Sony is big man on campus u DUMB BOT. Micrsoft got screwed and Sony is going to make BILLIONS off them AND blow them out in the console war. Sony owns and started Blu Ray and formed an alliance of all the biggest companies to push the format. Microsft is just now joining becuase they are DESPERATE to beat Sony in everything... which they cant do.

Go play your P.O.S LMAO.

This is HILARIOUS HAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH AHAHAHHAHAH FOLLOW THE LEADER AS ALWAYS Microsoft. Microsft HAS TO HAVE BL RAY FOOL. Do u actually believe digital downloads will EVER be the only way???? Much less even being anywhere close to being able to take a QUARTER of Blu Rays potential... sorry XBOT but the entire industry isn't pushing BluRay with Sony because they think Digital Downloads are the future. Because the AREN'T BOTS. Microsft wishes. But its just an ALTERNATIVE and thats all it will ever be. Look at CD'S since iTunes.... CD's still make MILLIONS and MILLIONS every year haha. It will take A LONG TIME for movies to become anything close to iTunes and people arent going to abandon Blu Ray and its not like Sony won't make another Format later LMAO

SONT OWNED MICRSOFT SOOO HARD.

Xbots will be DESTROYED. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAH AHHAHAHAHA

And Xbox 360 has no big games coming hahahahahhahahahha and the hardware is like a Fisher Price toy hahahahahahhahahahha DUMB BOTS.

owned.

End this page right now.

DOUCHE WAD I said they arent using HDi!!! They are using Java anyways and screwing over Microsft.... who cares about a CODEC.... thats not a big deal LMAO. Microsft got owned, Sony MAD BLU RAY and are geting the most out of it by far. PERIOD. Microsft and YOU THE CONSUMER who all bought HD DVD drives and now will be pushed to buy Blu Ray LOST. I know Java isn't MPEG and I never said that. I said Microsft just got raped by Sony and are going to win the console war(which Micheal Patcher already predicted even if Sony didnt win with Blu Ray..... its just going to make it that much bigger over the next decade.

You guys are just blasting about something you know nothing about, Sony was the main developer of the actual technology but they still only have a VOTE in the BDA, they can't deny/allow anything on their own. Even if they could however it doesn't matter you don't need permission to make Blu-ray HARDWARE, anyone can and sell it for whatever price they want, Blu-ray ROYALTIES only come into play with Software sales(movies). And it uses Java as a codex? are you mentally retarded? MPEG-2, H.264/AVC, and SMPTE VC-1 are the Codex support by Blu-ray players... VC-1 was made by Microsoft.

" As for Royalties you do realize 1)Sony is only like 1 of a dozen companies behind Blu-ray - No the maid it.

2)Guess whos Codex runs most Blu-ray movies? I'll give you a hint the developers of that codex start w/ a Micro and end with a Softt."

Only Reason BD has M$ crappy VC1 codec in therr tool ,is cuz its is what Drove HDDVD, idiot not BD, and it was a Industry Player codec that M$ went to court to make sure both had the Ablitty to play the extra media on the disc.

They were the main designers of it, however that still doesn't make them the main owners of it, the BDA is who gets royalties from Blu-ray not Sony on it's own..... just like Toshiba wasn't the only one to get royalties from HD-DVD, they have partners that have just as much to do with the success of the Format as Sony did. Just because they were the main designers of the format doesn't mean they have complete control of it. Even IF they did MS wouldn't have to pay a dime in royalties Format royalties come from Software sales not Hardware. The entire point of my comment was just to point out the fact that MS won't be giving Sony a Dime even if they put a Blu-ray drive in their next xbox or release an Addon for this one. However anyone who uses MS's Codex has to pay them royalties just like Sony has to pay MS royalties for any of their laptops that use Windows.

MS supporting Blu-ray helps sony but not in the way you're thinking it does, More Blu-ray players no matter from who it's from equals more Blu-ray movie sales which is what Sony DOES get royalties from. However MS Supporting Blu-ray doesn't hurt MS in the least, infact only helps them since anything that uses MS's Codex has to pay Microsoft.

sony started the bid to make blu-ray and them and samsung hold the most shares, so M$ would be paying them a big amount. also it seems funny to watch M$ going for blu-ray with there tail behind there legs finaly realising HD-DVD isnt happening and neither is downloading games anytime soon

Exactly. The official sources have said nothing about Bluray on the 360. The writerrs of the articles and ignorant fanboys keep making that part up to suit their wild fantasies. MS is planning support for Bluray under Vista. That is it. And those Ballmer remarks are old as hell. It took 360 acolytes to ram through a very old story. Here, suck it pal:

Fanboys are an interesting breed indeed. I think you don`t understand to well. Sony will receive royalties from movie sales, not hardware. Microsft backed a format, that is all, it failed..move on. Sony was able to move on after all their other failed attempts at cornering media format.

I'm going to enjoy making money from those Blu-Ray Xbox 360's! What should I do with the money, Sony Soldiers? Ah, I could throw a party in Sony HQ! We could play "pin the tail on the...........PIG"!!!!!

IF M$ put blu-ray on the 360 any1 who buys it will be giving money to Sony also Sony won't give them away so Microsoft will have to pay Sony a lot for them which means that the recent 360 price cut won't last long because the price will indefinately go back up again.

No they don't theres no Royalties fee on Hardware for video formats, now if say you bought a Next gen xbox w/ Blu-ray or a Blu-ray Addon this gen if it comes out and then you bought MOVIES then you'd be giving Sony a portion of that money.

Sony was doing just fine before blu-ray came along, and i SERIOUSLY doubt that Microsoft using Blu-Ray will hurt Sony at all. All this means is that this is good news for the whole of the Blu Ray group as they have another huge company supporting their format now.

This will not hurt PS3 business at all. As a matter of fact, had Sony not opted to use Blu-Ray in the PS3, it would be safe to assume that the PS3 would have have easily taken the lead for this gen instead of slowly catching up to the competition.

You are a total hypocrite. In one post you say "Sony is a part of the BDA" then in this one you say "Sony has no say". You are correct that anyone can make Blu Ray hardware, but anyone who wants to use the Blu Ray brand must go through Sony, dumba$$, and in turn, they must compensate them for it. Making hardware without the brand name plastered on it is cool if you're the one doing it at home, but to the consumer it looks like a knockoff. You speak out of your a$$ more than your mouth. You fail.

..the format war, get over it. It doesn't mean that the PS3 won the console war. I'm a PS3 fan but honestly it's just a win for Sony more than anything. If there were a scoreboard, you would add a point to the Sony side at this time. Eventually Blu-ray will become the drive format that computers use, the same way DVD drives became the norm.

1. Sony arent the sole owner of Bluray 2. This has nothing to do with the xbox 360, its more about Bluray drivers for Windows 3. The xbox will never see games on Bluray; they were never going to bring out games on HDDVD so they wont on Bluray. 4. This isnt such good news for PS3 owners, it means all cross platform games will have to fit on a DVD, so most of the Bluray disc on the PS3 version will be wasted.

I hope all companies can agree to use a particular standard soon so development can be made easier.

Why wouldn't MS want to find a way to integrate Blu-ray capabilities into their products? It would be a mistake on their part if they didn't. While I think DD is eventually going to be the content delivery form of the future (see DOCSIS 3.0), Blu-ray isn't going anywhere for a while. It's in their best interest (and their customers) to come up with a Blu-ray solution for their products.

I believe Ms and Sony are business partners outside of the game realm. Just because they are competitive in 1 business market doesn't mean they don't have other business relationships. Ms could also always use another medium for supplying games in the future that don't require a blu ray disc. I'm sure the next xbox will have a integrated blu ray drive since they will be a lot cheaper by then.

That's really all I can say. The adoption of Blu-ray is steadily becoming universal on all fronts and we, as consumers, can only reap the benefits of having a standard format across videogames, movies, and computers.

Of a beautiful partnership, Believe me our gaming world is about tobe ROCKED! Sony and MSoft working together will be huge. Think about it, if MSoft drop making consoles and just do what they do best and make software it would be NUTS! Better games on Bluray and push their Digital Down load thru Sony its a WIN, WIN for both companys and most important YOU the GAMER. NUFF SAID!!!! PEACE Nykamari

Probly won't Happen. Before the Original X-box MS went to both Sony and Nintendo and offered to make Software for both their systems instead of making their own.... Sony/Nin said no and now looked what happened.

Not to play games on, obviously. That would screw over the install base. No, Blu-ray equiped 360's that play Blu-Ray movies, but the games stay on DVD. M$ could call the fourth SKU Xbox 360 ULTIMATE!

and make it a high end console. Charge more, but aim it only at the tech croud and fnaboy, like me. Also, give the ULTIMATE a 200GB HDD and Wi-Fi That way they cover all their bases. Hardcore/casual/cheepskates etc...

They're trying to include drivers in Windows Vista for a BD drive? That's great news. My next question is: Where the hell are the drivers for everything else in Vista? I will never upgrade to Vista until MS unlocks the source code and offers it to third party hardware manufacturers so they can make completely compatible drivers. The fact that my 200 dollar sound card doesn't work well in Vista is not a way to sell me on the "OS of the future".